Trunk



(No Model.)

P. M. PIPER.

I TRUNK. No. 267,585.. P atented Nov. 14, 1882.

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wih' e ssas N PETERS Photo-Lithograph", wllhlnginn. D, Q

FRANCIS M. PIPER, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGEL. DRAKE, OF SAME PLACE.

TRUNK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 267,585, dated November14, 1882.

' Application filed April 12, 1882. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANCIS M. PIPER, ofLynn, in the county'of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented anew and'useful Improvement in Trunks, of which the following is a full,clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to thedrawings accompanying and forming a part hereof, in which- Figure 1 is aperspective view, showing one end and the front of the trunk with thedrawercovers open. Fig. 2 is a section. Fig.3 is a perspective of theframe. Fig. 4 is a detail showing tenoned sill-piece arranged to slidein grooved frame-piece. a

My improvement relates to trunks containing drawers, or what are knownas bureautrunks and it consists chiefly in the construction of such atrunk with a drawer frame or case placed directly inside the shell ofthe trunk, and which affords a strong and secure resting-place for thedrawers.

It has been common heretofore to construct trunks with drawers,thedrawers opening from the front or back ofthe trunk; and in order, insuch trunks, to provide a support for the drawers, on which they couldslide when being opened or closed, the end pieces of the trunk were madeof heavier material than the sides, and were grooved or partially cutaway to form ledges for the reception of the drawer ends. In order forthe proper working of the drawers, these end pieces must remain inexactly the position in which they were originally set, or substantiallyso, for if they vary from that position the drawer will bind and cannotbereadily opened. 1n the wear and tear of travel these endpieces werefound frequently to change their relative positions, and this was morefrequently the case than with the end pieces of the common box-trunks,since the ends are held in position by the side parts of the shell, andin bureau-trunks a large part ofthe side is cut away to accommodate thedrawers, thus weakening the part which held the end pieces in position.To avoid this and gain a perfectly strong and durable drawer-trunk, Iconstructa drawer-frame consisting of four uprights and suitably-placedcross-pieces, (see Fig. 3,) in and on which the drawers rest, and.

which protects them and allows oftheir being set so as to open fromeither the ends or sides of the trunk. I construct this frame of wood inany well-known manner, and I prefer also to secure the shell of thetrunk directly to this frame, thus securing a very strong, durable, andinexpensive bureau trunk, the drawerrests of which are not liable to getout of position in traveling, and the drawers of which are thereforealways readily opened and closed.

In the bureau-trunks hitherto known to me the drawer-front covers havebeen arranged to slide up or down inside the ends or sides of the trunk,or have been hinged at the sides and arranged to open like doors. Inplace of these devices, I arrange the end covers, H, of my improvedtrunk to swing down by hinging them at the lower edge, h, tothe end Jotthe trunk, and secure them, when closed, by look at the upper edge.These covers, when open, hang down close to the end of the trunk, andare not in the way. The cover F for the drawers in the front of thetrunk is also arranged to swing down on hinges in opening. Itwasnecessary, however, to devise some method of concealing this cover whenopen, as otherwise it would be in the way when the drawers are in use,and would be liableto bebroken. Itherefore place the lower drawer, A, soas to leave a space, K, between the bottom of the trunk and thedrawer-bottom. In this spaceIplace a sliding sill-piece, E, which is soarranged that it may slide in this space from the back to the front ofthe trunk, butis preventedfrom coming out. To do this the piece E isprovided at either end with tenons T,which slide in grooves P in theframe-pieces K. To this sliding piece the front cover, F, is hinged atits lower edge. At its upperedge it is secured, when closed, by lock tothe upper front ofthe trunk. When, therefore, it is desired to use thefront drawers the cover is unlocked, swung down, and shoved back, withthe sliding piece E, to which it is hinged, into the space between thedrawer and the bottom of the trunk. By this arrangement the cover isprotected when not closed, takes up no extra space, and at the same timeis in a convenient place, and not in the way.

I disclaim all that was secured to me by Patenb No. 242,556, dated June7, 1881.

hat I claim is The combination, in a bureau-trunk, of a 5 skeletondrawer-frame arranged to receive and support a series of drawers, with atrunk body or shell secured to said frame and provided with removabledrawer-covers which admitof access to the drawers, and which cover themwhen not in use.

FRANCIS M. PIPER. Witnesses:

N. A. MAGLEOD, ROBERT WALLACE.

